Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Following the success of the first edition of the Postgraduate Diploma in "Risk Management in the Offshore Extraction and Wind Energy Industries," the inauguration of the second edition took place on 4th March 2023. Gdynia Maritime University and PGE Baltica, the course's main partner, recently agreed to continue to work together to deliver the programme to GMU students.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the University's Faculty of Navigation which runs the course and began with a welcome from the Dean of the Faculty of Navigation of Gdynia Maritime University, Tomasz Neumann, and the Head of the Postgraduate Diploma,  Agnieszka Blokus-Dziula. In reference to the course's title, the Dean announced:

- A year ago, we undertook the risk of creating this postgraduate study programme. Today, we are glad to be beginning the second edition of this programme and, seeing how many of you are here with us, to witness the ever-greater interest it attracts among our students. The decision to continue in education is not always easy. Therefore, all the more so, I welcome your decision to choose the postgraduate studies offered at our Faculty.

40 participants will take part in the new edition, which will consist of 210 teaching hours during two semesters.

After welcoming students and guests, the Rector of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit, also said a few words.

- Gdynia Maritime University has specialised in the education of future merchant fleet officers for more than a century. The second, very important area of our education is the preparation of specialists for the wider inland maritime sector. In recent years, the Gdynia Maritime University, responding to the needs of the labour market in the offshore wind energy sector, has taken up the challenge of training personnel for the offshore industry, including offshore wind energy," said the Rector. "Thanks to the combination of theoretical and expert knowledge and support from industry experts and the programme's main partner, PGE Baltica, we can be satisfied that it has been a success and is increasing in popularity. The graduates of the first course have recently received their diplomas, and today I have had the pleasure of welcoming to the University the participants of the next edition. The preparation of personnel for this sector requires cooperation and joint ventures, by universities, the energy industry and the offshore industry. So I am very pleased to continue working with PGE Baltica as the main partner of this postgraduate programme, as well as in other areas," added the Rector.

Next to speak was Dr Dariusz Lociński, PGE Baltica's Vice-President for Development.

- One year after the beginning of our educational cooperation with Gdynia Maritime University, we can already see its effects. Congratulations to the graduates of the first edition of the course, and I wish the best of luck to the new group of students. The offshore wind energy market in Poland needs professionals and specialists. Using the resources offered by Polish universities, we want to prepare qualified personnel for work in offshore wind energy. The high quality of classes at the University was well received by participants of last year's course and generated great interest in this next edition. We, therefore, decided to continue to be  involved in the programme's operation.

Following the speeches, the Rector and Dr Lociński signed a cooperation agreement for the second edition of the PGDip in "Risk Management in the Offshore Extraction and Wind Energy Industries."

Opening lectures were then given by two well-known and valued industry experts, with extensive experience gained around the world, as well as teaching in teaching, that are part of the programme's teaching staff.

In his lecture, Sławomir Bałdyga, Director of the Industrial Supervision Department at the PRS, drew attention to the need to develop safety habits in our daily lives and to ensure the safety of ourselves and others, iterating the slogan "safety first." He stressed that in the offshore industry, the slogan "safety first" is of particular importance and pointed out how failure to comply with safety rules could have disastrous consequences. During the lecture, the Director of the Industrial Supervision Department presented the personal protective equipment necessary for work in the offshore sector. Sławomir Baldyga outlined the importance of choosing the right equipment, and how seemingly insignificant details and compliance with the principles of safe conduct can save lives. In the second part of the lecture, he raised issues concerning the risk management of a project, highlighting the importance of standards, regulations and training, especially in the offshore industry. Finally, he presented the mission of the classification societies, including the PRS, which he has been associated with since 2017, and whose aim is to help ensure the safety of people, vessels and land facilities, cargoes and the environment.

The second opening lecture was then given by Łukasz Sikorski – Director of the European market at OWC, an international offshore wind energy consultancy company. Mr Sikorski focuses particular attention on management and risk issues in the offshore wind energy industry, and recently was the editor of the first Polish book on offshore wind energy. As an engineer with a humanist's soul, he began his lecture with excerpts from risk philosophy presented using numbers and images. Beginning with the Latin proverb Audaces fortuna iuvat!, through a series of facts, he forced the audience to reflect on whether happiness really 'favours the courageous'. In his speech, he made it clear how seemingly unlikely things and risks could escalate, creating an immense problem and threat, in order to finally convince participants that "fate favours the prepared."

At the end of the official part of the inauguration, Agnieszka Blokus-Dziula, head of postgraduate studies, discussed what new topics, in relation to the first edition, will be delivered to participants in the second edition of the programme. There are also some new faces on the teaching staff: PGE Baltica - Piotr Kubala, a geology expert and Patryk Juszkiewicz, an expert in geotechnics, who will the introduce participants of the second edition to the geological work carried out for the needs of the offshore extraction and offshore wind energy industries. Konrad Wróbel also joined the group of lecturers, who, in relation to risk management in the offshore wind energy industry, will focus in particular on the management of risk in offshore air operations and critical infrastructure issues in the energy sector.

Among the remaining teaching are staff of Gdynia Maritime University and offshore industry practitioners, including further experts from PGE Baltica. Rafał Żendarski, the senior head of port-maritime logistics at PGE Baltica, also gave a lecture as part of the second edition of his studies immediately following the official inauguration.